The Presidential Nominees' Policies on the Issues They Will Neglect to Mention in the Debates: Part III
Christopher Butler
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The State of the Union on Animal Rights
While most Americans will focus their attention on the war in Iraq, the recessive economy, the rising cost of oil and the energy crisis when they stroll to the polls this November to elect the 44th PrThe Issue: Senator Barack Obama has been endorsed by the Humane Society as their choice for President. During his four-year tenure in the Illinois Senate, he voted for at least a dozen animal protection laws, including banning the slaughter of horses for human consumption (because at the time, Illinois and Texas were the only two states to have operational horse slaughterhouses). Also, Obama plans to create pet trusts in order to provide care for animal companions of the elderly and handicapped, according to the candidate's official website.
The Problem: Senator Obama's plan for a creation of pet trusts could pose a serious issue if he hopes to revitalize the entire Health Care system, because it will cause limited funding for humans in need of government medical assistance. Although Obama has made strides against the slaughter of horses for human consumption, he neglects to address the issue of horse racing (while focusing solely on the cruelty of dog and cockfighting), which has recently been criticized for several high-profile instances of trainers pumping horses full of steroids to the point where they severely injure themselves on the track and must be euthanized. Also, Obama supports hunting for sport, but he is in favor of conservation (which is a contradiction in itself). Finally, although he is the endorsed candidate of the Humane Society, he is only rated a 60% on the Society's scorecard for protecting animal rights (to put this number into perspective, Hillary Clinton, the snubbed candidate for the Democratic nomination, was rated 100% by the Humane Society).